


Investigating Matthew

by ChillyHollow



Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Genre: Accounting, Alternate Universe, Cheating, Fraud, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:35:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23929267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChillyHollow/pseuds/ChillyHollow
Summary: Robin gets a series of anonymous letters at work
Relationships: Matthew Cunliffe/Robin Ellacott, Matthew Cunliffe/Sarah Shadlock, Robin Ellacott/Cormoran Strike
Comments: 16
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter One-Letters

This morning was like any other at the accounting office in Harrogate.Robin got to the office first and collected the mail.She headed upstairs to her little desk to open the letters, once she started the coffee pot and made sure the plants were watered.Matt didn’t care one way or another about the small pot of violets and the cactus she had on the window sill behind her desk but they were company for Robin.She didn’t exactly talk to the plants but they were green friends she watered and fussed over.

Once all the chores were done, Robin sat at her desk, started the computer, checked the calendar (no early morning appointments, thank goodness) and started opening the mail.Old Mrs. Wallstone had paid her bill, there was a circular for the new Chinese restaurant opening on the other side of Harrogate, the lights bill had arrived, and there was a scented blue envelope.Robin wondered if the last was from a contemporary of Mrs. Wallstone’s.In her experience only elderly ladies used scented notepaper these days. She ripped it open with her letter opener and unfolded the note.It was brief and to the point.

whoremonger

Robin stared at it in shock.She turned the single sheet over, saw it was blank, and looked at the envelope she’d just opened.She realized it wasn’t stamped.It must have been put through the letter box slot by hand instead of coming through the post.The envelope was addressed to Matthew. 

She dropped the sheet on her desk, turned to the phone and called the police.

The North Yorkshire police sent out a Sgt. Wilson who took charge of the envelope and letter.He was promising to fingerprint it when Matthew arrived, demanding to know what was going on.When Matthew saw the letter, he turned bright red and started to bluster.Robin thought he sounded guilty.She believed that Sgt. Wilson also thought so.After a few questions about any enemies that Matt or Robin might have or any client who might be unhappy and wanting to cause trouble, the Sgt. went away again, leaving a very cranky Matt to snap at Robin for “causing an uproar.”

“It’s one of those unbalanced old ladies that I do the books for.You know how possessive and demanding they are,” he announced.“Next time just put such trash in the bin.Involving the police it in is stupid.”He was annoyed at Robin the rest of the day.She managed to calm him down finally by fixing his favorite steak and chips with peas for supper. 

Robin didn’t find it easy to go to sleep that night.Matt’s guilty expression bothered her.She didn’t think he was cheating—they’d only been married for a year!—but there was something going on.She would bet on that.Robin tossed and turned for what felt like hours before falling asleep.

The next day went on as usual and the day after.And the day after that.Robin was starting to relax and think Matthew had been right.But then, exactly a week to the day, Robin collected the mail and saw that there was a new blue scented envelope in that morning’s mail.She began to shake a little but determinedly she slit open the envelope and let the sheet of paper inside fall out.It opened when it hit the desk.Robin could see one word.

thief

She knew calling the police was the right thing to do, and she was certain that Matthew would also put up a huge fuss.Robin thought about how to handle this, then she opened her desk drawer and pulled out a plastic sheet protector.Lifting the envelope by the corner using a tissue, she slid it into the protector. She carefully put the letter inside as well, put the protector sheet in a manila folder labeled with today’s date, and stashed the folder in her desk among the other file folders.She went about her usual routine, greeted Matthew when he came in later, and went over the day’s tasks with him.He had an afternoon meeting over toward Masham with Mrs. Smith-Jones. He did the books for the tiny brewery that she owned and once a month like clockwork he was summoned to her office to go over all the numbers. 

He headed into his office to finish some reports before he had to leave.As soon as Robin was certain that he was not paying any attention, Robin called her friend Amy and asked if she could borrow Amy’s car for the afternoon.It was a silver Ford Fiesta, the sort of car that you saw a dozen of at in the grocery parking lot each Saturday.It was totally unremarkable, which Robin’s old Land Rover was not.Once Matt left with a wave and a smile, Robin started shutting down the office for the day.Matt wouldn’t know as he always went straight back home after his Smith-Jones visit. 

She was out the back stairs not five minutes after Matt had left.She jumped into Amy’s Fiesta and headed down the road toward Masham.Matt was not a good driver or a fast one, so Robin caught up with him after only a few miles.She dropped back and followed him, staying well out of sight.He passed the turnoff to the brewery and kept going, ending up at a Motel 6 on the edge of town.Robin parked at the chippie across the street and watched in the rear view mirror as Matt got out of his Audi and greeted a bleached blonde in the parking lot with a big kiss.Arm in arm they went into one of the rooms.Robin got out and purchased fish and chips for herself and sat in her car, eating them mechanically.She had recognized the blonde.It was Matt’s old friend from university, Sarah Shadlock.They’d had dinner with Sarah and Sarah’s fiancé only last weekend.Looked like the poison pen letter writer had a good idea of what Matt did during those “brewery” visits.

Robin looked around. She couldn’t stay sitting in the car very long without people wondering but where could she watch Matt and Sarah unobserved? There was a restaurant upstairs with a nice terrace.Robin abandoned the Fiesta, dumped her unwanted fish and ships in the bin, and headed up the stairs into the restaurant.She looked around and spotted one table with a superb view of the motel door but it was already occupied by a large man with unruly dark hair.He was looking at her speculatively.Robin took her nerve in her hands and walked over to him.“Mind if I join you?” she asked and sat.

He had manners.He half rose as she seated herself, then sat back in his chair and looked at her with one eyebrow cocked. He wasn’t very good looking, the man across from her, with his swarthy skin and a nose that had been broken, but he had presence, perhaps because he was so tall and broad.He raised his hand and caught the attention of a passing waiter.“Another menu, please,” he told the waiter.Then he looked Robin over.She half blushed under his scrutiny, then stuck her chin up.“Robin Ellacott Cunliffe,” she said, sticking her hand out. He shook it and said, “Cormoran Strike.”Then he shocked her by asking, “Are you Mrs. Matthew Cunliffe?”

Robin eyed him warily, “Yes.How do you know that?”

“Because I’ve been following him for a week now.I spotted you following him today, too.In the silver Fiesta.”

“Who are you?” Robin asked. 

“I’m a private detective, hired to follow your husband and see what’s he’s up to.”

“Who hired you?”

“Can’t say but I can tell you he’s been having a really nice time with a series of blondes.”

“A series?”

“Three to exact.I assume you are here because you suspect him of cheating?”

“Yes.We got an anonymous letter at the office addressed to Matt that said he was a ‘whoremonger.’ I called the police before Matt got to work and from his reaction, I realized something was up.”

“What did the police say?”

“They took the letter away but I haven’t heard anything back.Exactly seven days later, today, we got another anonymous letter, identical to the first except this one said, ‘thief.’I’m trying to figure out what’s going on.”

“Interesting.” 

“Only if it isn’t your husband being accused.”

“Did you suspect him of cheating before the first letter arrived?”

“No!”

“Now that you’ve seen him enter a motel with a lady and he’s been there” —he checked his watch—“twenty minutes, are you inclined to think he’s cheating?”

“I know he is.I recognize the woman.That’s Sarah Shadlock.She’s engaged to Matt’s best friend.They all knew each other at uni.She’s always had her eye on Matt.”

“Sarah Shadlock?And she’s engaged to his best friend?Not very nice of your husband.”

“No,” Robin said.The waiter appeared and asked for her order.Robin asked for a Greek salad and ice water.He brought her companion a draft beer.

The man, Strike, sipped at his beer, studying Robin.She looked back at him, studying him in return.He was dressed in unremarkable clothes, but they were clean and well cared for.The hands holding his beer mug were large, the nails neatly trimmed.He had intelligent eyes that ranged from the motel door to her and back again.There was a notebook and pen on the table and he had a plain, serviceable watch on one thick wrist.He had a heavy growth of short beard as if he’d not shaved in a day or two.His nose had definitely been broken.All in all,he looked like a tough character but one who could be relied on in a crisis.

“Who are the other women that Matt’s been taking to a motel?I assume that he’s taking them all to one?”

“Yes, he is.This motel, in fact.Hope he’s getting a discount.I don’t know who any of them are.I don’t have names yet.”

“Did you take photographs?”

“Yes.”

“If you show them to me I might be able to identify them for you.”He looked skeptical.“Look, I’m offering information in exchange for information.That’s all.I’m not asking you who you are working for or to get copies of the photos.I just want to know who Matt’s seeing so I know how to proceed.After all, if the first letter was right, there’s another accusation that I am going to need to investigate.I’m involved.I work with Matt at his accounting firm, and if he is stealing from a client, I have to protect myself.”

The waiter brought Robin her salad and a burger and chips to her companion.He thanked the waiter politely and put some HP sauce on his chips.“Eat your salad,” he told Robin.She took a bite.He ate his burger, keeping an eye on the motel. 

Robin tried to be persuasive.“You are going to have to make up your mind to trust me.Matt’s not going to be here a whole lot longer.He’ll have to leave by 4 to get home, which means I have to leave by 3:30 to beat him there and get food on the table for supper.”

“Are you going to tell him you know he’s cheating on you?”

“Not yet.I need to know what’s going on before I confront him or take the new letter to the police.”

Strike seemed to make up his mind.He took a phone out of his coat pocket, swiped through a series of photos and showed her one.Robin took the phone and enlarged the photo slightly to see a blonde in Matthew’s arms.“That’s Jenna Whitfield.She’s married to the local pharmacist in Harrogate.” 

“She was Tuesday morning’s fuck,” Strike told Robin.“Swipe to the next picture.”

Robin did so and looked hard at the next photo.It wasn’t as good as the other but she was pretty certain she could identify the blonde Matt was kissing.“I think that’s Sally Strewmore.She’s an estate agent in Harrogate.”

“She was Thursday afternoon’s fuck.”Robin sighed and handed the phone back to Strike who was making note of the names.Robin ate more salad, thinking. 

Strike took his wallet out of his pocket and removed a business card which he slid across to her.It read “C.B. Strike, Private Detective” and had an office and mobile number on each lower corner and an email address in the center bottom.Robin took it and put it in the bottom of her purse, sliding it under the lining.“What’s your phone number?” he asked Robin.She gave him her cell phone number and the office number which he added to his notebook.

“Can you tell me if you’ve seen any evidence of stealing on Matt’s part?”Robin asked Strike.

“No, I have not.Do you have any suspicions?” he asked.

“No, I don’t but I have to think about it.I didn’t realize he was cheating on me, after all.I have the second letter back in my office, hidden.If I give it to you, can you check it for fingerprints?I’d like to talk to whomever wrote it.”

“All right.Let’s finish eating and head back to your office now, instead of waiting for Cunliffe to get out of bed.”So that’s what they did.Strike paid for their lunches and proceeded Robin down the stairs.“I’m big enough to hide you in case he comes out.”

Robin asked what Strike was driving.He told her was in a dark blue Mercedes and he’d follow her to the accounting office in Harrogate.Robin said, “I’ll go back and unlock the office.Could you wait a bit before you come into the office?If someone is watching us I’d rather not return with you in tow.”

“Ok,” he said.“I’ll park down the street and walk back to your office.”Robin felt like someone was watching the entire trip back to town but she did take time to admire Strike’s driving.Sometimes the Mercedes would pass her, sometimes it would drop back.It didn’t appear to be pacing her although that was exactly what it was doing.Robin admired his driving skill.

She parked Amy’s car in her usual spot, left the keys hidden in the flower box by the passenger door and ran lightly up the back stairs to her own office.There were no calls waiting and no notes pushed through the letter box.She tidied up the office, cleaning the coffee pot as she normally did at the end of the day, nervously waiting.Then Strike was there, entering the office quietly, very quietly for such a big man.Robin slid the manila folder out of her drawer and handed it over.Strike opened the folder and looked at the letter and envelope in their protection.He closed the folder again, said, “I’ll be in touch,” and left Robin to shakily close the office, lock up, and head home to pretend that nothing was wrong while she made Matt the Whoremonger dinner.


	2. Chapter Two-Spreadsheets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin begins to investigate her husband

The next day Matt had client meetings most of the morning so the office was busy, which was a nice distraction.Robin wondered what Strike had found out about the letter she’d given him.She wondered if she was wrong to trust him. She wondered who the anonymous letter writer was and if there was as much truth to the stealing accusation as there had turned out to be with the accusation Matt was cheating on her. She wondered when she would get up the nerve to leave Matthew and where she would go and what she would do.She wondered if Matt was stealing from a client and if so, who?

She mentally reviewed all the clients that Matt did accounting for.Only one had enough cash on hand that a theft would be worth the risk—the Harringtons.They were an older couple who had once owned Swinton Park. They’d sold it to a corporation who ran it as a posh hotel/tourist site.They’d received a pretty penny for the sale and invested a lot of it. Matt handled some of their investments for them.Robin pulled up the latest spreadsheet of their investments and looked at it. Everything looked normal.She sent up a new Hotmail email address for herself.Then she emailed herself all the monthly spreadsheets from the Harrington account.She would take time to review all the accounts as she was able.She went back to her computer, emptied her cache and deleted the history, then she changed her password, just for good measure.Matt never looked at the old office PC but it didn’t hurt to be careful.If he asked she could tell him she’d decided it was time to change passwords since they’d had the computer for nearly a year.She also changed the password on her phone, just to be certain he couldn’t look at it any time he wanted.

Matt was distracted but he gave her a quick kiss before he left in mid-afternoon, planning to swing by the estate agent’s to look at some new houses that had come on the market.She and Matt were hoping to trade up to a bigger house as Matt wanted more space once Robin got pregnant.She wondered if Matt was going to sleep with Sally Strewmore during his stop and decided it was time to make an appointment with her gynecologist to discuss birth control.Robin called the doctor’s office and made an appointment for the next day since they had a cancellation.She wouldn’t fill the prescription at the Harrogate pharmacy since Jenna Whitfield, another of Matt’s paramours, sometimes helped out at the cash register.She’d use the big pharmacy on the outskirts of town on her way home. 

She had just put her cell phone down when it rang again.The caller was an unknown number, but it rang a bell somehow, so Robin picked it up and said hello.A deep, rough male voice said, “Mrs. Cunliffe?” It was Strike.

“Yes,” she answered.

“Cormoran Strike here.No prints on the letter.Whoever wrote it used gloves.I’ll check the local stationers in Harrogate, if there are any, to see who sells scented stationary.”

“You are sure?”

“Yes.I do this for a living and I’m good at it.”Robin thought he probably was.

“The only store in Harrogate that sells stationary is Smith and Company, at the corner of Appleton and High Streets.”

“Thanks.Maybe I’ll see you there at 1 p.m. tomorrow.”He hung up. 

Robin thought about it.Why not?She usually ran errands on her lunch hour as the office was closed, even if Matt was seeing clients.He’d often bring a sandwich to eat, so she’d just pop out tomorrow.They needed some office supplies anyway.They were low on printer paper and she could get more pencils and pens if they were on sale.Then she could stop at the doctor’s office before she went back. Well, it was time to close up the office and head home to start dinner.Robin busied herself with shutting down the computer, making sure the printer and coffee pot and fax machine were turned off, turned off the lights and locked up before climbing into her family’s old Land Rover and heading for home.


	3. Chapter Three - Call Me Robin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The partnership of Ellacott and Strike starts to come together.  
> This is a short one so I am posting another chapter.

The next day Robin told Matt she had a doctor’s appointment so she was going to head out at lunchtime and pick up some office supplies before she went to the doctor.He nodded distractedly and said he would eat the sandwich she’d packed for him at lunch and see her at home.She wondered which paramour he’d spend the afternoon with.She was surprised she didn’t really care.She wasn’t as angry with Matt as she thought she should be.It was if she already knew somehow deep inside he was over her, so she was over him, too, and not ready to waste energy on a lost cause.

Smith and Company was busy, as always, so Robin grabbed a shopping cart.She looked at the various pens and pencils on offer, picked up a new stapler on sale and bought a packet of sticky notes to take messages on.Then she headed around the perimeter of the store toward the back corner where the copy paper was kept.She bought two reams of the brand that the printer preferred, then looked around.The stationary section was nearby.A man was looking at the selection.He was tall and broad and wearing a heathery brown sweater.It was Strike.

She pushed her cart in his direction and nodded at him.He smiled slightly, then pointed.There were several boxes of blue scented stationary stacked down low to the floor.He took one from the stack and opened the lid and took a sniff, then offered it to Robin.“I think it’s the same.”

“I agree.” 

They walked to the checkout lines and paid for their purchases.Out on the sidewalk, Strike asked if he could buy her lunch.“No, I have a doctor’s appointment.I’m going to set myself up with birth control.No need to bring a child into this mess that’s my marriage.”

He looked at her and she thought there was sympathy in his eyes.“Maybe another time, then,” he said. 

“Call me Robin,” she said on impulse.“Not Mrs. Cunliffe.”

“Ok,” he said.“Then call me Cormoran.We’ll do lunch another time, Robin.”He left her on the sidewalk as she loaded her purchases into the back of the Land Rover, and walked around the corner and out of sight. 

Robin spent the next hour with her doctor, getting an exam and a prescription for birth control pills.She drove home via the large pharmacy where she filled the prescription.She hid the pills in the bottom of her cosmetic bag after she took the first one. 


	4. Chapter Four - A Key and a Bank Book

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin searches the accounting office

Robin busied herself around the office the next morning, vacuuming and dusting before any clients arrived.She normally did this at least once a week since Matt didn’t want to pay for a cleaner.Then she sat down with a report Matt wanted typed.When lunch rolled around they ate sandwiches together while Matt talked about the houses he’d seen yesterday.Robin thought they were all a little too large and ostentatious and they were way out of their price range, but Matt had always wanted to move up in the world.She was noncommittal about all of them, but Matt didn’t seem to notice.He liked the largest of them, naturally, a big white manor house sort of a thing on a good sized plot of land.“And there will be room for a garden for you, Robin,”Matt added. 

Robin decided to fake enthusiasm.“Can we both go look at it this weekend?I don’t think the garage is big enough but the kitchen looks really nice and five bedrooms will come in handy.”Matt promised to talk to the estate agent.“Who is showing you around?” Robin asked casually.Matt told her it was Sally Strewmore, which she had expected.“Oh, she’s nice.I see her in Waitrose sometimes when I do the shopping.Speaking of which, I need to make a trip to Leeds in the next week or so.Mum’s birthday is coming up so I want to head to Next and maybe Pandora to look for a present for her.She’s turning 60 you know, so I want to get her something special.Do you need any shirts or ties?Next sometimes has those Hermes ties you like.”Matt said a new tie would be great and could Robin find him a few new button down shirts?“I need some white ones although pale blue or pink will do if they are out of my size.”

Robin and Matt settled on next Monday as the day she’d go to Leeds.They finished their lunch, Robin cleared away, and Matt got on the phone with clients while Robin printed out some bills.Once she knew Matt was busy, she sat at her desk and thought.If Matt was indeed stealing from the Harringtons, the money must go somewhere.She resolved to search his office and then their house for some indication as to where funds might be hidden. She already knew their checking and savings account had no unusual funds.She balanced those to the penny each week.Matt wasn’t getting any statements for accounts other than those, but she’d look for evidence that he had an account she knew nothing about when she searched.It’s possible he had a post office box where such mail might be received without her knowing.Her mind made up, Robin turned her thoughts to the regular office chores, killing time until Matthew left the office.It was Thursday, after all, which was Sally Strewmore last week. 

Once Matthew headed out “to talk to the business centre about that promotion” Robin took the dusting supplies out of the closet and headed into Matt’s office.She took everything off his desk and dusted it, then put polish on it.Then while the polish sank into the walnut desk, she searched all the drawers thoroughly.Nothing.She put everything back on the desk exactly as it had been, then dusted the file cabinet.She searched it without finding anything that was unexpected.Then she moved to the bookcase, taking down all Matt’s old school textbooks, the telephone directory, his rugby trophies, etc. and dusting them all.She found a small brown envelope inside one book with the number 346 on the outside and a small key inside.She thought about it as she put everything back, then she pocketed the key and envelope. 

The final part of the office to search was the office safe.Matt kept confidential client files there.She hadn’t opened it the whole time they’d been married but she knew the combination.It was their wedding date.She turned the dial, her hands shaking.The door came open easily, revealing file folders and a small cash box.That was the office petty cash.Nothing unusual there—it held about thirty pounds.But in the Harrington client folder Robin found a bank book.It was an account at a Leeds bank and there was nearly three-quarters of a million pounds in the account.The Harringtons had that kind of money but what was Matt doing with their bank book?Robin took the bank book to the copier and made copies of the register and the account number, then she put everything back where she had found it, stashing the copies in her purse.It was lunchtime so Robin locked up the office and headed to the local hardware store where she had the tiny key copied.Then she picked up a sandwich at the tiny grocery across the street and took it back to the office to eat.First she replaced the key she’d found in Matt’s bookcase.Then she sat at her desk, thinking.

She finally opened her new secret Hotmail account and composed an email to Cormoran Strike.“Supposed to be taking the train to Leeds 8 a.m. next Monday to shop.Want to follow Matt with me?Found something odd in his office.”

She got an almost immediate answer.“Yes.Meet you at the train station at 7:45 Monday next.BE CAREFUL.”Robin deleted the emails, emptied the trash, cleared the cache of her computer and deleted the history.She kept herself busy the rest of the day with billing and correspondence and made an elaborate dinner to keep from having to talk to Matt much that evening. 


	5. Chapter Five - Train to Leeds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin and Strike investigate Matthew together.

The weekend passed by in a flash.Matt and Robin visited the house he was interested in purchasing.Robin watched Sally Strewmore, the estate agent that her husband was screwing.Sally was tall and assured, a little older than Robin and Matt, divorced, with a nice tan and the manner of a hustler at a fair.Robin paid attention to the parts of the house that Sally glossed over while Matt chatted away with the agent, looking at everything with his accountant’s eyes. 

The house itself was nice but Robin thought it probably needed extensive repairs.She discussed these with Matthew over dinner at a local restaurant, pointing out that the house was overpriced given the cost of replacing the roof and heating system, repairing water damage in one bathroom and the kitchen, and painting the exterior.Matt agreed with her so they decided to pass on this one and keep looking.Robin privately thought Matt would enjoy more time with Sally Strewmore.Whatever kept him busy and away from her was fine with Robin.

Sunday was busy with chores, gardening, cleaning, doing the weekly shopping and trying to get on top of the pile of laundry and ironing Matt’s shirts.Robin made a list of items to look for when shopping in Leeds:a tie and shirts for Matt, a present for her mother, perhaps picking up something ready to heat at the nice grocery there to make dinner Monday night a bit easier.She laid out her Monday morning train trip clothing the night before and made Matt a boxed lunch to take with him to work. 

Up early Monday morning, Robin showered, fixed her hair and makeup and dressed, all the while wondering who Matt was going to meet as soon as she was safely on the train to Leeds.She also wondered if the key she’d copied was a post office box key.It looked like the key her friend Amy used to pick up her legal office mail.Well, the post office was near the train station so she’d be able to check that this morning.She parked the Land Rover in the train lot, checked the time, then dashed across the road into the post office.It wasn’t open yet so the lobby was empty.A swift survey found a box numbered 346.The key fit and opened the box.It was empty.Robin closed it, put the key back in her change purse, and hurried across the street again to the train station.She found Cormoran Strike in the parking lot, leaning against his navy Merecedes.He opened the passenger side door for her.She got in and discovered two coffees waiting for them in the car’s console.She thanked him for thinking of coffee.She’d been too anxious about the trip, what Matt was up to and the post office box key to remember to pick some up for herself.It was hot and strong with real cream.Delicious!

Strike started the car and joined the commuters on the highway.He parked across the street from their office in an out of the way slot that had a good view of their office.Shortly Matt appeared in his Audi.He went into the office, turned on the lights, and reappeared in a short time.He got back in the Audi and turned onto the main highway.Strike followed at a discrete distance.Robin drank her coffee, and watched Matt’s car and Strike alternatively.He was a good driver, focused and careful. 

Matt drove straight to the Motel 6 where he was joined by Sarah Shadlock.They headed into a room, arm in arm.Robin sighed.“Could you take me back to the train station, please?I do have to go to Leeds.”

“Sure,” he said, and did so.“What have you found out?You have that look.”

Robin smiled without humor.“I wondered if the anonymous letter writer was right that Matt was stealing.We only have one client with a lot of money, the Harringtons.They sold their family estate for a huge amount several years back.I emailed myself copies of the statements we prepare for them each month to study and searched Matt’s office.If he is stealing money, it has to go somewhere and I know it’s not in our checking or savings accounts.I found a key hidden in his office bookshelves that turned out to be for a post office box.”Robin got the key out of her change purse and handed it to Strike.“I had a copy made.It’s for box 346.Can you keep an eye on that?It’ll be easier for you than me.I checked just before I met you at the train station parking lot.The box is currently empty.”

“Thanks.”Strike pocketed the key.“Anything else?”

“Yes, I found a checkbook for a bank account in Leeds in the office safe in the Harrington client folder.I don’t know why Matt would have one of their checkbooks.I copied the register and the account number.I thought I’d try and find out more about it in Leeds.If Matt is stealing their money, I need to know.”

Strike parked his car and looked at her.“I’m coming with you to Leeds.I’ve reported to my client about the trysts, but any potential embezzlement is out of my brief for them.This is just between us for now.I’ll help you find out what you can in Leeds and we can figure out if that’s enough to go to the police, assuming there is something.The post office box and checkbook are suggestive, but your husband may just be receiving love letters from his honeys.The checkbook might be innocent.”

“But you don’t think so.” 

“No, but what I think isn’t evidence.Let’s go to Leeds and find out what we can.”

So they bought first class tickets to Leeds.On the train they entered an empty compartment as not many people were traveling this time of day.Strike and Robin sat next to each other, watching the scenery fly by.“Why are you helping me?” she finally asked him.

“I like having a partner, even unofficially.It’s nice to have someone to bounce ideas off.And you are clever.What are you doing running an accounting office?”

“That’s what Matt wanted.Free secretarial services, free cleaner, free cook, free fucks,” she said bitterly.

“He’s not paying these women,” Strike pointed out mildly. 

“No, he’s taking advantage of them, like he takes advantage of me.”

“Are you going to leave him?”

“Yes, once I know the truth about any potential embezzlement.”

“Where will you go?”

“Back to my parents’ house in Masham.” 

Strike took her right hand in his left and they held hands all the way to Leeds.It was comforting to Robin, easing the ache in her heart, to have someone supporting her.She didn’t want to acknowledge to herself that the fact that it was a member of the opposite sex was part of the appeal.She wasn’t a cheater like Matt, after all. 

At the train station they caught a cab to the downtown shopping area where Robin picked up a pretty silk scarf for her mother’s birthday and found a tie and white shirts for Matthew.They had lunch at Rosie’s Cafe.While they ate, Strike pulled out his cell phone and looked at the cash point portal for the Leeds bank where the checkbook account was located.“Looks like you have to enter your account number to access online banking.Do you have that?”

Robin took the copies she’d made from her purse and handed them to Strike.He entered the account number and paused at the password section.Robin suggested he try 07072011.“That’s our wedding date. He used that for the safe combination.”

Strike entered the number and the account opened.He rapidly photographed all the account information, then logged out.“I’ll print all this out and we can look at it later, ok?Hopefully Cunliffe won’t realize anyone has accessed the account.”

Robin sat back, thinking.“Cormoran, what happens if we find evidence of embezzlement?The local policeman did nothing that I can see about the anonymous letter.”

“I’ll take any evidence to Scotland Yard.I have contacts there.Anonymous letters are difficult for police.It’s hard to pin down unless you have an idea who might have sent it.Could be a spurned lover, I guess?Are there any likely candidates among your acquaintances?He seems to like curvy blondes.Anyone who fits that description you used to see regularly you don’t any more?”

Robin thought about it as she ate her sandwich.“There is one woman, Clarissa Stephenson.She is a widow, about my age.But her husband died about four months ago, and we mostly socialized with them as a couple.It might be normal for a widow to not want to go places with people she associates with her dead husband.” 

“How did he die?”

“He had a heart attack watching rugby.Matt plays and Sam was on his team but he got ill and didn’t play any more.They went to all the games, though.We went to the funeral but I don’t remember that Clarissa has been to any social events we went to after that.”

“Do you have her address or phone number?”

Robin searched her phone and finally found a number for Clarissa Stephenson.“But it’s nearly a year old.It might not be good any more.” 

Strike added it to his notebook anyway.“I’ll contact her and see if she’s willing to talk to me.”

“Just keep me informed.I want to know if the police are coming for Matthew.”

“Robin, be careful.Let me talk to this woman, watch the post office box, see where Matthew goes when he is out and about.”  
  
“I’m going to go through the Harrington spreadsheets, see if anything seems odd.I can do that at work and it won’t be obvious what I am doing,” Robin said.

“All right,” Strike said reluctantly.“Just don’t let your husband know.”They finished eating, paid their bills, and walked to a nearby grocer’s where Robin picked up ready to eat meals for tonight’s dinner while Strike bought crisps for them to eat on the train back to Harrogate.They sat together, eating their crisps, but not saying much the entire trip. They both had a lot to think about. Robin and Strike parted with nods in the parking lot.Robin took herself home to heat up the mince and potato meals she’d purchased while Strike headed off in his Mercedes to check the post office box (still empty) and track down Clarissa Stephenson.


	6. Chapter Six - Clarissa Speaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strike interviews one of Matthew's lovers and starts to worry about Robin.

The next day Strike found Clarissa Stephenson in her garden behind her cottage just off the High Street in Harrogate.She was an attractive, slim blonde with an anxious air, especially when a large stranger accosted her in her own back yard.“What did you say your name was again?” she asked nervously.Strike handed her his business card.

“I’m investigating the anonymous letters that Matthew Cunliffe has been receiving.”

“I had nothing to do with those!” she exclaimed. 

“But you know the Cunliffes,” Strike said.

“Well, yes, my late husband used to play rugby with Matt.I often saw him at games and practice.” 

“Do you think Mr. Cunliffe has any enemies?”

“I don’t think so. Matt is charming.”

“How many other women was he sleeping with when he was sleeping with you?” Strike asked.

“He wasn’t!”

“Come off it, Mrs. Stephenson.I’ve been following Cunliffe for weeks.He’s currently sleeping with three tall curvy blondes.You are just his type.”

Clarissa burst into tears.Strike shepherded her into her kitchen where he made her a cup of tea.Sitting at her kitchen table, she finally stopped crying and blew her nose.“I thought I was special to Matt.He told me he was leaving his wife, that’s she’s cold and distant and doesn’t like sex, that she never recovered from being raped when she was at uni, that’s why she dropped out.I wanted to believe him.Sam, my husband, wasn't feeling that great and we’d stopped having sex. I was lonely.I was easy prey, I know that now.After Sam died, I thought that Matt would leave his wife and we’d be together, but he brushed me off and I saw him with the pharmacist’s wife at the motel where we went to be together.So I knew he was just stringing me along.”

“Is that why you sent the letters to his office?”

“You know about those?”

“Yes, his wife called the police when she got the first one.”  
  
“Am I in trouble?”

“No. but I need to know if he is actually embezzling funds from his clients.”

“I think so.Matt bragged about it once when we were…together.He said we’d go to Spain on someone else’s dime.Of course that never happened.It was all a fantasy to get me in bed with him.When I was free, he moved on to someone else who was married.Matt likes married women.He enjoys seducing us, making us believe we are special, all the while knowing he doesn’t have to follow through with any of the spurious promises he’s making to get us to sleep with him since leaving our husbands really isn’t in the cards.I loved Sam and I miss him.He wasn’t the world’s greatest husband but he was miles better than Matt Cunliffe.”

Strike left her weepy over her cup of tea and texted Robin.“Lunch at 2 at McDonald’s?”

Robin texted him back.“1:30 and you are on.”

They went through the drive through line separately, then drove separately to a little local park where they sat at a picnic table together to eat their lunches.Strike told Robin what Clarissa Stephenson had told him, except he omitted the part about Robin being raped while she was at uni and Matthew’s claim that she was cold and distant as a result.“Do you believe her, Cormoran?”

“I think she is being truthful and believes what she told me.It doesn’t prove your husband is stealing from his clients, however.” 

“No, it isn’t proof.I think I might have found proof he’s stealing from the Harringtons, though.I set up spreadsheets for Matt with their investments when they first became clients.He maintains them, updates them each week, and sends a copy to them each month, as he does for all his clients.I went through each monthly report and they all seem fine.But I remembered I kept a backup of the original I set up for the Harringtons, just in case something happened so we’d have a template to start over.The original backup has an investment that isn’t listed on any of the monthly spreadsheets.If Matt is taking the money from that investment and putting it in the bank, he’s been stealing since we opened the office here in Harrogate before we were married. Here is a printout of the spreadsheet.See line 7?Do you have the photos of the bank account that you looked at in Leeds?”

“I do but it won’t prove anything.What we need is access to all the investment account records to compare payouts from this investment to what went into the Leeds bank account.It’s time to call in the Met.They can get access.And Robin, it’s time for you to go visit your parents in Masham for an extended period.”

“Why?”

“Because you have equal access to the accounts and records and that post office box.I need you out of the way while the Met investigates and hopefully catches Cunliffe picking up the investment statement at the post office box and transferring that money into the Leeds account.If you are here in Harrogate, Matthew will say it was you who was stealing.”

“Oh.Ok, I’ll call my parents.I can pretend my dad had a minor heart attack.When should I go?”

“Right now.Today, this afternoon.Get there as fast as you can and stay there.Don’t go anywhere without one or both of your parents present.I’m serious about this.That’s the only way you can prove that you had nothing to do with this.”


	7. Chapter 7 - The Arrest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew gets what's coming to him.

Robin called her parents from the park and told them she was coming home and she’d explain when she got there, but they were to tell anyone who asked, especially Matthew, that her father was ill and might have had a heart attack.She headed straight to her house, packed a bag hurriedly, left Matthew a note, and jumped into the Land Rover and left for Masham.On the way home she called Matthew, and left a panicky-sounding message that her mother had called and her father might have had a heart attack.She was heading home immediately and would talk to him tonight. 

When Robin arrived, she had a long talk with her parents. They were immediately concerned and doubting but Robin went over everything that she had learned about Matthew’s behavior.“I’m never going back there, whether the police find any evidence that he’s stealing from clients or not.He’s been cheating on me. I’ve seen him going into motel rooms with a variety of women with my own eyes.The private detective I’ve met has documented affairs with three women in the area currently and with a fourth woman he’s no longer seeing.The fourth woman sent two anonymous letters to the office, the first accusing Matt of cheating and the second of stealing.She believes he is taking money from client accounts and I found a bank account in Leeds that I don’t know anything about.”

Over the next two weeks Robin heard from Matt several times but not as often as she would expect if he was actually concerned about his father-in-law.Matt didn’t offer to come to Masham and Robin didn’t ask, having no desire to see him again.She did get two text messages from Strike.One came the evening she arrived in Masham, telling her he’d been in touch with Scotland Yard and to stay safe and keep to the plan of not going anywhere outside the house without one or both parents.He said he’d contact her once the Met investigation was complete.She waited, trying to be patient, going over and over in her mind the evidence she and Strike had accumulated.The second text came a week later. Strike said that Sarah Shadlock was staying in Robin’s house in Harrogate with Matthew and that Matt’d picked up mail from the post office box.Robin fretted and tried to stay busy with chores around the house.Next day she was baking shortbread in the kitchen when her brother Martin came into the kitchen from outside.“Company for you, Robin.” 

Robin took the last sheet of biscuits out of the oven and sat them aside to cool, then hurriedly dusted her hands off and headed to the kitchen door.She met Strike there, coming up the stairs.She looked at him anxiously.He came up to the top of the stairs, Martin hanging over her shoulder looking at this big stranger who was upsetting his sister.“It’s over,” he said to Robin, who burst into tears and hurdled herself into his arms.They stood at the top of the stairs, Robin sobbing and hugging the man who was holding her, stroking her hair and telling her it was all right.Martin headed back inside to fetch his parents.

Linda and Michael hurried downstairs.“Robin!” 

They found Strike sitting Robin down on a chair in the kitchen.He looked at her mother and said, “Make us some tea, ok?”Michael nodded, so Linda put the kettle on.Martin got out mugs and plates, sugar and milk while Michael sat next to his daughter and took her hand.“Want to tell us what is going on, Robin?”

Strike sat with a sigh on Robin’s other side and said, “Has Robin told you what we discovered about her husband’s behavior?That he was cheating on her with multiple women and had been for a while?”They nodded.“Did Robin also tell you that we’d found evidence that he was stealing from his richest client that we took to Scotland Yard?”Linda looked shocked.Michael said, “No, she didn’t tell us it had gone that far.”

“I advised Robin to come here and stay with you to keep her away from her husband before I called the Met and told them I’d found evidence of embezzlement when following a man for a client who suspected his fiancé of having an affair.Robin had supplied the last piece of the embezzlement puzzle, but unfortunately, it pointed to her as much as to her husband as the actual embezzler.I suspected her husband would blame her for the theft so I wanted her out of the way.Scotland Yard has been watching Matthew Cunliffe for several days now.They saw him picking up investment reports mailed to a post office box he rented and they caught him transferring funds from that investment account into a secret bank account he set up in Leeds.That’s definitive evidence of fraud and with Robin here and not out of your sight, she’s proved innocent.” 

Strike turned and looked at Robin.“Your husband had moved his favorite paramour into your house in Harrogate while you were gone taking care of your sick father”—he nodded at Michael—“and when the police arrested Cunliffe he blamed the thefts on the girlfriend.She took umbrage at that and has been unexpectedly helpful to the police in finding out what he did with some of the money that’s unaccounted for.” 

“Robin, your husband is in jail and likely to stay there for a while.Your house is now a crime scene but the officer in charge has agreed that once Scotland Yard is finished searching the house you can return and pack up your personal effects.The Harringtons have put a lien on the house so it cannot be sold.They are insisting that the house is theirs, that Cunliffe used their funds for the down payment.Until all that is settled you won’t be able to sell it or the contents, and Cunliffe won’t be able to use it to obtain bail.However, the Harringtons have agreed to let you remove personal items such as clothing under supervision.” 

Linda got up and poured the tea and handed around the shortbread that Robin had just baked.Robin looked at her father and then at Strike.She picked up her mug of tea, then put it down again.“It’s awful, isn’t it?” 

“Yes,” Strike said.“Eat your shortbread.” 

“I don’t think I can.” 

Strike took her hand in his.“You have to.Robin, this is a bad thing.You trusted and married a man who stole from a client and cheated on you.That’s not your fault.He did that.You did not.You are an innocent victim in all this.You are stuck with some of the consequences but you have to hold your head high and go on.” 

Robin looked at him, holding her hand, looking at her with intelligent but gentle eyes.She nodded and whispered, “Ok.”She looked down at her hand, and withdrew it from Strike’s, then she took off her wedding and engagement rings and put them on the table.“Will you go with me to pick up my things?”

“Sure,” he said.“Wardle will let me know when you can get your things and I’ll call you.Someone from the police will be there and likely the Harringtons will have a representative there, too, to make sure you don’t smuggle out boxes of pound notes or something.Now, eat your shortbread and drink your tea.”

Robin took a sip of tea.She didn’t notice her parents and Martin exchanging worried glances but Strike did.


	8. Chapter 8 - A New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Setting out a puzzle and creating logical steps to solve it is durn hard.  
> Kudos to all of you who do casefic!

Three days later Robin got a call from Strike that Scotland Yard would allow her back into the house in Harrogate to pack up her personal items tomorrow.“Do you want me to meet you there or at your parents’ place?” Strike asked.

Robin asked him to meet her at her parents’ house.“That way I can drive the Land Rover.It has a lot of room in the back.I’m a good driver, promise.”So that’s the plan they agreed on—Strike would meet her at 10 a.m. in Masham and Robin would drive them to Harrogate to meet the police and the Harringtons’ representative at Robin’s old house at 11.After they packed up there, they would travel to the accounting office as Robin wanted a few things from there as well.Robin put empty boxes in the back of the Land Rover.She was mostly getting her clothes but there were some items she wanted, like the antique tea pot from her grandmother her mother had passed on to her when she married Matthew.

Robin was feeling anxious when Strike arrived the next morning.Her entire family was there, her parents and all three brothers, to see them off.Stephen had been trying to talk Robin into allowing him to go along to help her pack up but once he got the measure of the tall, broad man that was Strike, he abruptly stopped urging her.Robin put a thermos of coffee and snacks into the back seat, climbed into the driver’s seat, looked over to make sure Strike was settled, and put the car into gear.Off they went, her family waving from the front yard. 

The drive to Harrogate was relatively fast.Strike and Robin drank the coffee she’d packed but neither wanted anything to eat.Robin was nervous about revisiting the house she and Matt owned.Strike asked her if she had a clear picture of what she wanted to pack.Robin nodded.“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.Let’s get this over with.”

A policeman that Strike introduced as D.I. Wardle and the Harrington’s lawyer, a middle-aged woman in glasses who said she was Janet Browne, were waiting for them.Robin unlocked the door, then removed the house keys from her key ring and handed them to Wardle.The house was dark and quiet.Robin turned on the lights and looked around.The house was a little musty, so she opened a window in the kitchen.She cleared everything off the kitchen table, then she and Strike fetched the boxes from the back of the Land Rover.Robin packed up her antique teapot in protective wrap first, after showing the lawyer and policeman that it was empty inside, and put it in a small box she’d brought for that purpose.That went on the kitchen table. 

She and Strike took the other boxes into the bedroom where Robin began emptying her closet.Ms. Browne stayed with her while Wardle and Strike stood in the kitchen, talking quietly together.When Robin opened the dresser, she found her ring box.She took it out and carried the box of clothes she’d packed along with the ring box into the kitchen.She gave the clothing box to Strike who took it to the Land Rover while Robin removed her wedding and engagement rings from her purse, put them in the ring box, and put the box on the table.“I assume all valuables will be stowed somewhere until it is decided how to dispose of them?” she asked Ms. Browne.“Yes,” was the answer.“I will be taking anything small and valuable away with me to keep in my office.I’ll give you a receipt, of course.”Robin nodded and went back to work.

After two hours the Land Rover was packed with Robin’s clothing except for her wedding dress which she left hanging in the closet.She’d packed her cosmetics and hair dryer, found the cash that Matthew kept in the house and put it in an envelope which she handed over to the lawyer, rolled up the rag rug her mother had made for them for Strike to put in the Land Rover, and double checked everywhere.She’d found an abandoned pair of women’s bikini briefs under the bed that didn’t belong to her which she tossed into the dirty laundry basket with distaste.She told Wardle she was ready to leave the house, picked up the box with her teapot, and left the house for what she assumed was the last time.She carefully stowed the teapot in the back seat, and calmly backed out of her driveway, heading for the accounting office she’d run with Matthew. 

At the accounting office, Robin repeated her actions:unlocking the door, removing her keys from her key ring, and handing them to Wardle, then turning on the lights.Inside, she took a swift survey of the office.She opened the safe for the lawyer who took the petty cash box.The client files were missing, she noticed. She told Wardle who explained the police had confiscated them.Her old PC and Matt’s laptop had been also confiscated. Robin removed her raincoat and umbrella from the hall closet, and took her warm sweater and a pair of gloves from her desk.These she put in one of the clothing boxes in the back of the Land Rover.She took her address book from her desk, showed the lawyer and policeman that it was just personal addresses for family and friends, and put that in her purse.Then she picked up her pot of violets and her cactus plant and was ready to leave.Wardle turned off the lights and locked up the office for her.

In the parking lot, Robin put her plants in the back seat with the heirloom teapot, then shook hands with Wardle and Ms. Browne, thanking them for their help.She watched as the policeman and lawyer drove away.“Want lunch?” Strike asked Robin.

“I don’t think I could eat anything.Can we just get coffee and talk?”

“Sure,” he said.She took the Land Rover through a drive-through coffee stand, then headed back toward Masham.About two miles outside of the Harrogate city limits Robin turned off onto a country lane.Once she was out of sight of the main road, she pulled into a gravel road leading into a field, backed up and turned the Land Rover so it was facing out, then shut off the engine.“I wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me,” she said to Strike.“Cormoran, you saved me from a possible jail sentence.Matt would have blamed me for any missing funds, as he blamed me for his cheating.Clarissa Stephenson called me at my parents’ home last week and we had a long talk.I know that he told her he was cheating with her because I was frigid after I was raped when I was at uni.I am pretty sure he told all the other women the same thing.You knew that, didn’t you?”

Strike nodded.  
  
“And that’s why you had me go stay with my parents?”

“Yes.Cunliffe had a pattern of blaming others, so I thought you were best out of it while the police investigated.It lessened his ability to muddy the waters.”

“I owe you a lot.It has been painful, disruptive, interesting and exciting working with you.I’m going to miss you when you go back to London.”

“Come with me.”

“What? “

“Come to London and work with me.I need someone in the office to do the clerical stuff and you are great with interviews.I can train you and eventually make you a junior partner in the business.I can’t pay much but working with you on this, I realized how much I need someone else, someone smart to bounce ideas off on, someone who brings social skills I don’t have to the business.I’d like that someone to be you.”

“May I think about it?”

“Of course.I know it’s a lot to ask.”

“Don’t be silly.I’d love to but I have to consult with my family.This was the worst and best time of my life, Cormoran, but I can’t just up and move without talking to them.”

They drank their coffee, thinking about what life in London working together might be like.Cormoran hoped that Robin would say yes.Robin found herself wondering what it would be like to work with a man who didn’t automatically devalue every thing she said.She thought she'd like it.Eventually they finished their coffees and Robin started the Land Rover.But before she pulled out onto the road, she reached over and took Strike’s hand.“Give me time.I’ll call you, ok?”

He smiled at her and squeezed her hand.“It’ll be good, Robin, I promise.”

She put the car into first gear and off they went, heading into a new adventure together.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to show Robin and Cormoran building a partnership together and this AU piece is how I decided to do that.


End file.
